Danny Thomas Books

I was surprised at the largely positive reviews of this one, which is the reason I'm posting a review myself.

After reading the numerous glowing reviews here, I bought the book expecting a tightly woven, fast paced read, but found the book poorly organized, sprawling and fairly inconclusive on many points. The actual experience of reading the thing (which is quite short at less than 200 pages) was tedious for me, almost a chore. It really frustrated me, because the true telling of stolen law enforcement software, government lawsuits, CIA spook meddling and a murdered journalist should be anything but tedious.

And, I REALLY wanted to like it too! Unfortunately, important characters and events are given little in the way of introduction or explanation, the chapters (and content within) are muddled and disorganized, and the overall argument is dificult to decipher and supported only weakly.

The book could've benefited by better authors with a more competent grasp of structure and delivery (Yeah, there are typos), and a few hundred more pages of hard research and structured content. The case deserves better handling than this.

Still, I recommend it, as it's pretty much the only game in town. But treat it a primer or a guide, not as the thrilling read it fails to be.

5 stars for subject matter and noble aims, but 2 stars for execution. I give it a 3 on the whole.

...i've read numerous conspiracy books, but this one is certainly one of the better. very well written. ... good read.

Danny Casolaro was a relatively wealthy individual who decided he wanted to become a writer. He already had a few articles published in various magazines when he first learned about the PROMIS software. Basically, PROMIS is a database program with amazing flexibility and statistical abilities and can also be used to predict future trends, submarine locations, etc. This software was developed by private individuals with some help in funding by the U.S. Department of Justice. However, the government decided to [take] the program instead of paying for it and began to market it as their own. This information is widely known and well-accepted and much documentation of this exists (including a successful lawsuit by the software developers that was later overturned on the flimsiest of grounds through the interference of the powers that be). However, when Casolaro set out to write an article about the robbery of the PROMIS program by the government, potentially to sell it to a computer magazine, the deeper he dug, the more sinister things became.

First of all, he learned that the DOJ had a backdoor added into the program so that the U.S. could access the files of whoever they sold the PROMIS program to, including the governments of Israel and Canada. This led to further revelations and meetings with various informants that further revealed a complex web of deceit leading down some surprising avenues. Casolaro now changed his plans to writing a novel, perhaps even presenting it as fiction in order to avoid scaring off publishers. But before this happened, Casolaro was found dead from what was an obviously staged suicide and many of his notes disappeared.

This very well documented book (that also verifies and is verfied by information published elsewhere) chronicles Casolaro's story, citing many excellent sources, including court records and affidavits. It also attempts to recover and recount some of the information about the conspiracy Casolaro began to call "the Octopus" because of its many, long-reaching tendrils. While it is not always clear Casolaro was on the right track (Casolaro himself often took note of what information seemed manufactured to mislead and discredit him), it is clear he was onto something big given his subsequent murder and its sloppy coverup.

Casolaro might have led a comfortable life as a mediocre writer publishing the occassional article, but because of his sense of justice and the need he felt to uncover the truth, he was ruthlessly murdered. This book is a wonderful epitaph to two courageous men (including co-author Keith who mysteriously died from knee surgery).

...i've read numerous conspiracy books, watched the videos, et. cetera, but i dare say this is one of the better!!! certainly, a must read for any conspiracy bluff! go get 'em, tiger.

Kenn and Jim's magnum opus. (RIP, beloved friend to humankind.) This book is as scary as they come, and stranger than fiction. As a conspiracy writer, I found myself shaking while reading it. THEY are real, and THEY can do and have done horrifying things. The Octopus is the Matrix vivified.

This book is especially important for anyone who still naively believes "there are no conspiracies." The word "conspiracy" means "to breathe together." Only two people are needed to make a conspiracy, and this book will leave you breathless.

Danny Casolaro is a heroic figure who bravely and, perhaps, foolhardily attempted to foil the Octopus, whose tendons reach into the most intimate parts of all our lives. He should never be forgotten. Thank goodness for the valiant likes of Kenn Thomas and Jim Keith for telling his story. Movie studios should be clamoring for this highly untold story - but they are no doubt part of the Octopus. Danny, Kenn and Jim should be lauded for their audacity and courage in bringing forth this treacherous tale of murder and mayhem. Such valor is akin to that of Gary Webb in his expose of CIA drug-dealing.

Carry on, fellow warriors for truth.

Acharya S; Archaeologist, Historian, Mythologist, Linguist; Member, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece; Associate Director, Institute for Historical Accuracy; Director, Center of the Research and Study of Theology; Author, "The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold"

This is one great book. Fabulous design (odd shape) with extraordinary examples of guitars built and designed by one of the most talented and creative luthiers ever. Danny Ferrington builds wonderful instruments. World-class musicians play them. Here you get to see AND HEAR (with the included CD, which you can't live without) some of Danny's most beautiful creations made specifically for some of the world's best players. The disc includes recordings of the players that the guitars were built for playing the instruments displayed in the book (my personal favorites include David Hidalgo, Ry Cooder, and Richard Thompson). Any guitar lover will cherish this exceptional treasure...now, just try to find one of the collector's batch which include a tweed "guitar" case made to form fit the book!!! WOW!

Terrific coffee table book featuring unusual guitars from luthier-to-the-stars Danny Ferrington. Ferrington's work is about 180 degrees from the traditional approach of luthiers such as William Cumpiano. On most acoustic guitars Ferrington's method of neck-to-body attachment is via four bolts a la Fender electric guitars. The best thing about this book is the delightful smorgasbord of shapes, colors and sizes of Ferrington's guitars. As an amateur luthier I never tire of leafing through the book as it is so stimulating to the imagination. The photos are very well done, with many nice close-ups of design features or hardware. There is a 6-page montage of Ferrington's construction methods but this is not really a book on lutherie methods.

This book was given as a gift. It was the best book I ever ordered and the best book I ever gave,,,,thank you

Don't buy this book unless you are sure it comes with the Sampler CD. The CD is quite amazing and has some tracks that can be used as audiophile-level references. These guitars don't just look great - apparently, they sound great too!

Wikipedia says: 'Epigenetics is the study of epigenetic inheritance, a set of reversible heritable changes in gene function or other cell phenotype that occur without a change in DNA sequence (genotype).'

That's a pretty general definition, and you can get into some pretty good arguments that this or that word should be changed.

The fundamental discoveries that began the field began to be discussed in 1941, but it grew slowly until fairly recent years. By 2004 the science had developed enough that the 69th Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology covered the topic. Many of the authors of this book attended that symposium and the seeds for this book were sown.

The book was written by about forty of the preeminent researchers in the field. It consists of 24 chapters covering virtually all known aspects of the subject. It can serve as a reference work for the current state of the art, or could be used as a text for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses on gene regulation.

It is becoming clear that epigenetic mechanisms are responsible for a large number of "genetic" events in the organism, both under normal and pathological circumstances. This advanced text (suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students) brings together, in a very readable way, the various mechanisms of epigenetic heredity.

Epigenetics is a scientific textbook written to teach advanced undergraduate and graduate college students about epigenetic mechanisms, which regulate gene expression in many biological processes. Chapters cover histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, siRNAs and gene silencing, X-chromosome inactivation, epigenetics in microbes, plants, insects and mammals, and much more. An in-depth, scholarly, and informative instructional reference, interspersed with occasional color photographs and diagrams, featuring an extensive list of references and a general summary at the end of each chapter to aid comprehension. An invaluable educational tool for specialized college science courses, as well as for professionals in the field of biology seeking to sharpen their understanding of modern epigenetics.

I bought this book on a recent trip to England, where it is available everywhere in paperback. For a good part of the book I was happy to be reading a well-written, enjoyable story (or two stories, as it seems), and it was only at about 2/3 of the way through that the hyperbole surrounding the book became obviously justified. When I was done, all I could think was "wow" and wish forlornly that there was still more to read. A truly wonderful little book, that deserves publication and mass distribution in the U.S.

Five stars are not enough! 'Random Acts of Heroic Love', is an incredible debut novel from Danny Scheinmann. A labour of love in itself; in his acknowledgements the author says it took six years and numerous drafts to get it right, but all that painstaking work has paid dividends. It's a wonderfully rich, insightful and wrenchingly emotional novel.

The story begins in 1992 with Leo, a young PhD student, waking up in an Ecuadorian clinic to find that his girlfriend Eleni is dead. Eleni. His soulmate. The other half of his whole. She's been killed in a bus crash they were in - the only victim of the crash. Leo's loss, and his attempt to go on living, picking up the pieces of his previous existence, without Eleni, is just one half of the book. Leo turns to Physics to try and find some answers and interspersed throughout the pages of the novel are facsimile pages from a journal Leo was keeping to help him get through Eleni's death... One of the quotes Leo finds is the one I used for the title of my review.

The other story, which picks up at chapter 3, is every bit as heart-wrenching. It is the story of another young man from Galicia, Moritz Daniecki, caught up in the war on the Russian Front as a soldier from 1914 through to 1917. In 1914 before the outbreak of war, young Moritz meets the love of his life, Lotte, and they declare their love for each other before Moritz goes to war. During the war he suffers unbearable conditions before finally escaping from a prisoner of war camp in Sibera. Moritz tells the story of how he is driven across the Siberian wilderness by his everlasting love for Lotte. It is her memory and the letters that he writes to her that keeps him going on his journey... not knowing what he will find at the end.

The two stories are truly beautiful. Both young men are kept going through each and every day by their memories of love, and the connection between the two is revealed at the end (if you haven't already guessed). Superbly written. The harshness of a Siberian winter and First World War horrors are vividly brough to life by Scheinmann. The book takes you on a non-stop emotional roller coaster and only those with cast-iron feelings will remain unmoved! An exceptional book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Reverend Danny Lynchard

Danny Lynchard was ordained as a Baptist Minister at age twenty and has been in the ministry for more than thirty years. Lynchard pastors at Fisher Baptist Church in Sand Springs, OK. He is a licensed private pilot and the Director of the Tulsa Police/Fire Chaplaincy Corps, where he has served for over 20 years. In this capacity he oversees a high number of volunteer chaplains who work with 1000+ law enforcement and firefighter personnel. He directly observes investigations and has personally dealt with over 800 families during times of catastrophic grief. His chaplaincy role has placed him in the living rooms of virtually every faith in America. He received training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, Mass Fatality Incident training through Federal Emergency Management Authority, and multiple law enforcement related operations. He founded the Peace Officer Prayer Partners which went worldwide. He is a dynamic speaker, an accomplished musician and a freelance writer for several Christian publications.

I received this book from my mom as a christmas present in 1993. I could not believe the guitars that Mr. Ferrington has created. For instance, a single-neck guitar that is both regular electric and a baritone. Or the beautiful mini accoustics built for Linda Rondstadt and Crystal Gayle. There are pictures of his accoustic basses as well as classical string instruments that show quite clearly the he is a master of his arts. If you are musician or just enjoy instruments as art, you will definitely like this book.

This book is a delight. The secret of Danny Thomas's long career comes through in this fascinating book. He clearly loved and took great pride in his wonderful family, thoroughly enjoyed his career, was grateful to all those who helped him on his way, gave back to the community -- and of course, he knew how to tell a great story! The details of his early show business career were particularly interesting as was the story about the founding of St. Jude's hospital. I don't usually read celebrity biographies but this is a good account of a life well spent and I'm glad I happened to read it.

If you only read one legal thriller by John Grisham, I strongly urge you to choose The Client. It's a remarkable book that will reward your patience, pique your curiosity, and keep you guessing until almost the very end.

The client has to be the most unusual legal thriller every written. The book's indomitable hero, Mark Sway, is an 11-year-old with a lot of guts and a desire to do the right thing. John Grisham takes that premise and pushes it to the limit by teaming Mark with the only lawyer that Grisham ever wrote positively about, Reggie Love. In the process, Grisham entertains with the petty foibles and vanities of the legal "powers that be" in a way that will make you wish that nice people worked at the law.

Enchanting books have heroes and heroines who intrigue and inspire us. Mark Sway and Reggie Love are well designed for those purposes. Mark is that wonderful combination of scamp, optimist, and idealist that Mark Twain first imagined in the character of Tom Sawyer. Reggie Love is a composite of the loving concern of everyone's favorite aunt combined with the toughness and smarts of Perry Mason.

The Mafia characters are bozos. The FBI agents are cretins. The prosecutors are sleaze balls. The other characters fade into the woodwork except for Reggie's favorite judge.

Have a ball!

THE CLIENT is one of my favorite books. It is superbly entertaining and immensely engrossing book that you aren't able to put down at all. Plus, it has constant emotional depth that leads to the unexpectedly tear-jerking ending.
I won't tell you about the plot, since you can get that elsewhere. I'm writing this so you will read this book.
Many of the complaints from other customers are about the fact that this book seems made to film. True, it does, but it's not anywhere near the point to where it lacks any depth. The characters are perfectly developed, and the dialouge is snappy and smart. Every part of the book is utterly thrilling and the entire 566 page book is a fast, enjoyable ride. Highly recommended.

If one was to go merely by the reviews online this book would have been overlooked. This book has everything a 'good book' should have. The book opens up with Mark, a 11 year old boy who is in the woods smoking with his younger brother, Rick. They see a black car pull up and watch in suspense as a man attempts to committ suicide. You have to get this book to find out the whole story. I loved it from the beginning to the end! I most definitely will be reading more books by him.

Highly recommend!

This was one of the worst books I've ever read. Normally, I really like Grisham's works, but this was just terrible. The plot was very weak and the characters were unbelievable. The "bad guys" are FBI and attorneys trying to solve a murder. The "good guy" is an 11 year old boy, who won't talk about what he knows. The story is completely ridiculous and the boy's attorney makes everything overly complicated. The characters were just completely unbelievable. And he made the "bad guys" completely incompetent.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

The story is about a little boy who learns the location of a murder victims body, but refuses to tell the FBI the information.

Usually I like Grisham. He's an easy read, there's good suspense and the locations and characters are interesting. This one had some of the usual Grisham oddities: demonization of prosecuters and policeman, lionization of defense attorneys, seeming endorsement of illegal activities (obstruction, blackmail) by the hero and his lawyer.

This time in addition, there's strawman-like attempts to characterize the Republicant prosectur as a bad guy (he even says the guy doesn't sleep with his wife...little gratitious and below the belt) and to make the lawyer personally sympathetic (from her divorce, etc.) But the whole thing is so trite that it never even starts to work.

Add on to that, that the plot makes zero sense. Why does the kid rationally not reveal the information, why does he not give it anonymously, why the reluctance for WP and then the decision to enter it anyway?

I got so disengaged that I skimmed the last half of the book. Read THE FIRM instead.

Dogs are easily motivated to respond to stimuli. Cats aren't so cooperative. Potential buyers used to behave pretty much like dogs--responding to advertising by running out to buy a product. Even in the B2B world, a sales rep or an ad campaign could move prospects easily toward a purchase. Today, buyers prefer to make their own informed brand choices. They are as difficult to herd as, well, cats. The solution: The authors have invented a `persuasion architecture' that enables sellers to provide an information experience that's individually meaningful to buyers. It marries the two-sided buying/selling process with the marketing communications flow. "Its focus, always, is persuading the customer to take action." To keep buyers moving toward a positive decision, sellers must ask again and again:

* Who are we trying to persuade to take the action?
* What is the action we want someone to take?
* What does the person need in order to feel confident taking that action?

Successful marketers guide prospects toward informed decisions through touch points, such as the web, print or television ads, and in-person contacts. The buyer's voluntary participation is required, because "you are always the equivalent of `one click' away from goodbye." Pervasive Internet usage for pre-purchase research creates marketing opportunity. For example, the shift to flat screen TVs enables savvy sellers to become your new best friend. Buying a TV with a tube was easy. Who understands flat screens? If you can guide us gently toward a positive decision, you win. Implementing persuasion architecture will help position your organization as the provider of choice for:

* Relevant, reliable information
* An enjoyable buying experience
* Products and services that precisely meet client needs

In fact, persuasion architecture as a core component of content marketing may be just the competitive advantage you need to succeed with those hard to herd clients.

I thought this book was one of the most inspiring books I read in 2006. It doesn't present any groundbreaking news, but it does make you eager to get out there and improve your marketing. I put up quotes and drawings based on the book by my workplace -- to get the inspiration from the book to last longer.

An astonishing feat, amazing accomplishment. Putting forth the vision of a structural framework in understandable terms. Concepts that can easily be envisioned by the small business or the Global 500.

Stunning economy of scale. Presenting a coherent grid map to the future of marketing in under 250 pages.

You don't need magic or voodoo or hyper intelligence. This is a map, a process - not simple - not quick, but a entire end to end process that when worked through and completed, filling in all the appropriate blanks beginning with 'Uncovery', will give you a measurable response to your challenge which can in itself be tweaked and refined through all iterations in your 'Marketing Cycle'.

Pavlov used a dog. Would the same experiment have worked with a cat. Enticing a cat is only a little easier than herding cats. Mass Media is dead. You've heard by now of 'Longtail'. This is the road map for the next phase.

The first half through Chapter 13 lays a ground work to support the vision with known concepts and practices and a quick run through of the history of commerce. Customer's perceptions and responses have changed and some of the subtleties are highlighted here. The 'what's in it for me' outlook of the new consumer is addressed.

Yet this is only the beginning. These ideas have been in the heart of every marketer / sales person since time immemorial. Now they're presented in terms and visuals that can be presented to the newest greenest recruit in your team in a fashion that can be built upon through a lifetime career or avocation.

The concept of a *(Magic, secret, special, hidden, lost) Framework that only needed the proper application of known and knowable facts and procedures to produce the 'Answer', has long been a goal of civilization - The Abacus, The Analytical Engine. As your minds eye begins to perceive the illumination thru chapters (14 - 23) you can see that the authors have articulated a vision in more ways than one, The 'Visual' of the 'Framework', 'the matrix'. 'The matrix' in multiple dimensions is priceless and will be remembered. The Authors recognize that their new concepts are just a beginning.

This book shows you the tools to answer those three questions that should be asked throughout your operation.
1. Who are we trying to persuade to take the action?
2. What is the action we want someone to take?
3. What does that person need in order to feel confident taking that action?

Persuasion Architecture, Persona-lization, Uncovery, these are terms you will use for the rest of your life.

This a 'Must Read' for every serious marketer.

The book comes with a CD containing an 80 minute Q&A session with the authors, a PDF full text copy of the book, and a $50 credit on Yahoo! Sponsored Search (new users only).


Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing

In terms of selling "themselves" and why you might want to use their services, this book barks loud. In terms of persuasive customer techniques, this book is a bit light on real content.

A good book on how to truly engage customers is Lois Kelly's "Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth" marketing. She understands customers don't ignore marketing, rather they demand marketing that has meaning and engages them authentically. Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Nearly every business book has at least one or two good ideas. However, every so often you get a book that's really just a piece of what's often called Spiral Marketing. Sprial Marketing is a technique in which you use a book, pamphlet, website or other low-cost entry point to capture an initial group of customers. Although you make some profit on the initial entry point, the main goal of that entry is to get you to purchase the next level, usually a set of videos or seminar. There is profit built into this second level as well, but even that's just a front to capture the big fish into longer term consulting. This book contains a smattering of theories, concepts and ideas (most of which are lifted from other sources such as Maslow, MBTI and general advertisting), accompanied by some professional looking illustrations. You have to admire the way it is able to continually flirt with the answers while never quite giving them away - you'll have to commit to the $150 consulting fees for that. And if you are interested in the consulting, I'll save you some money on that as well. Judging from the almost immediate mentions of Yahoo keywords, the foreward from a Yahoo executive and the $50 credit towards the service I'm guessing Yahoo keywords is pretty much the heart of what they call "Persuasion Architecture."

Having previously read "Netware Professional Reference" by Karanjit Siyan, I hoped this edition would follow in the same light. This book is a real help for network administrators as it gives good examples and solutions of day to day problems.

This book is designed as a reference not a study guide.This is one of the best Intranetware books I have read to date.

I have all of my "favorite places" marked for quick reference. The book is not organized to study for CNE exams. However, it has the information for Intranetware Network Administrators need for managing their networks. It contains a great index for quick look-ups.